Petition our elected officials and law enforcement administrators to reopen the main police dispatch channels for public broadcast in Clark County. We respect the right for Law Enforcement to encrypt special team and tactical channels, but regular day to day operations should remain unencrypted to preserve transparency, and to provide a source of safety information for Clark County citizens.
There is zero evidence to suggest that encrypting main dispatch channels will actually improve officer safety and it is an UNCOMMON practice across the United States. Most agencies who have chosen NOT to encrypt main channels to preserve transparency and to maintain community trust. We want Clark County to join the thousands of agencies that either chose not to encrypt or have turned encryption off, realizing the damage it does to public trust, the interoperability issues it creates, and the safety concerns it presents for the public. Currently, citizens of Clark County WA are now dependent on the SINGLE news media outlet that has been granted special privilege to encrypted channels. The citizens are at the mercy of the Columbian to provide safety information and breaking news. This only serves to line the pockets of the newspaper company.
The decision to mute all police radio to the public was made behind closed doors with no announcement or opportunity for public comment or input. No data or evidence to support the claim that this was needed for "officer safety" was ever presented. Further, there is no evidence at all suggesting that police officer using encrypted radios are any safer than officers using unencrypted transmissions. ALL officers have cell phones, mobile data terminals, and the dispatch agency can easily assign special encrypted talkgroups when officers need to transmit sensitive information or are on a special mission. We support encryption of special teams traffic, but we want our the police to be transparent with day-to-day operations (dispatch channels) and just employ common sense when communicating potentially sensitive information.
Updates
June 29, 2017
Seeing this level of support confirms that I am not the only one frustrated by the silence from our officials. This momentum is draining but it also proves that people in this county still care about transparency. We are prepared to keep pushing until those channels are open again.
Reached 100 supporters
June 29, 2017
28 Comments
Beyond the already stated, encryption creates a serious interop issue, and while local systems might be able to cross talk, if we get major disaster such as the off predicted 9.0 earthquake, most of the actual aid will come from elsewhere with other systems, where encryption will inhibit communications drastically. Read Katrina reports.
I have been a CCSO volunteer, CERT trained and former Military. When the big earthquake hits I'm concerned that those of us in citizen support roles will be left wondering. I am also concerned that as with all technology systems fail and when it comes to our police, fire and rescue that is not an option. If a radio gets "out of sync" then that officer is completely alone.
There is no verifiable information that shows going encrypted makes officers any safer, except maybe in tactical operations. It's time to end Clark County's decision to circumvent the Freedom of Information Act.
I liked to listen to the scanner to be informed about things happening in our community. Especially the area where I live with my children and husband. The crime rate has really went up in our area and liked to stay informed about what areas to avoid and now that the radio has been encrypted I can't even get information from our community social media sites on scanner related information. They need to change it back...
I'd rather be able to know what's going on in the local areas, with crime, traffic, and potential hazards for the local area as I do in home caregiving all over Vancouver, and it's hard to know what's going on without a scanner.
Transparent communication.
Transparency is key to a free society.
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Petition our elected officials and law enforcement administrators to reopen the main police dispatch channels for public broadcast in Clark County. We respect the right for Law Enforcement to encrypt special team and tactical channels, but regular day to day operations should remain unencrypted to preserve transparency, and to provide a source of safety information for Clark County citizens.
There is zero evidence to suggest that encrypting main dispatch channels will actually improve officer safety and it is an UNCOMMON practice across the United States. Most agencies who have chosen NOT to encrypt main channels to preserve transparency and to maintain community trust. We want Clark County to join the thousands of agencies that either chose not to encrypt or have turned encryption off, realizing the damage it does to public trust, the interoperability issues it creates, and the safety concerns it presents for the public. Currently, citizens of Clark County WA are now dependent on the SINGLE news media outlet that has been granted special privilege to encrypted channels. The citizens are at the mercy of the Columbian to provide safety information and breaking news. This only serves to line the pockets of the newspaper company.
The decision to mute all police radio to the public was made behind closed doors with no announcement or opportunity for public comment or input. No data or evidence to support the claim that this was needed for "officer safety" was ever presented. Further, there is no evidence at all suggesting that police officer using encrypted radios are any safer than officers using unencrypted transmissions. ALL officers have cell phones, mobile data terminals, and the dispatch agency can easily assign special encrypted talkgroups when officers need to transmit sensitive information or are on a special mission. We support encryption of special teams traffic, but we want our the police to be transparent with day-to-day operations (dispatch channels) and just employ common sense when communicating potentially sensitive information.
Updates
June 29, 2017
Seeing this level of support confirms that I am not the only one frustrated by the silence from our officials. This momentum is draining but it also proves that people in this county still care about transparency. We are prepared to keep pushing until those channels are open again.
Reached 100 supporters
June 29, 2017
28 Comments
I believe the encryption violates the citizens right to know what is happening in our communities. If they are so worried about security of sensitive information, that can, and should be sent over secured network, ie, the computer systems in the patrol vehicles, the main dispatch channels should be open to the public, to aid in accountability, their "need for encryption" just adds to public distrust in the justice system, and its my opinion, as a state licensed security officer, that we the people, know what's best for our saftey. Those that misuse, the radio/scanner frequencies should be put in jail, for said crime,I believe most people that wish to use a scanner, wish to do so for their own peace of mind, not criminal activity.
Beyond the already stated, encryption creates a serious interop issue, and while local systems might be able to cross talk, if we get major disaster such as the off predicted 9.0 earthquake, most of the actual aid will come from elsewhere with other systems, where encryption will inhibit communications drastically. Read Katrina reports.
I have been a CCSO volunteer, CERT trained and former Military. When the big earthquake hits I'm concerned that those of us in citizen support roles will be left wondering. I am also concerned that as with all technology systems fail and when it comes to our police, fire and rescue that is not an option. If a radio gets "out of sync" then that officer is completely alone.
There is no verifiable information that shows going encrypted makes officers any safer, except maybe in tactical operations. It's time to end Clark County's decision to circumvent the Freedom of Information Act.
I liked to listen to the scanner to be informed about things happening in our community. Especially the area where I live with my children and husband. The crime rate has really went up in our area and liked to stay informed about what areas to avoid and now that the radio has been encrypted I can't even get information from our community social media sites on scanner related information. They need to change it back...
I'd rather be able to know what's going on in the local areas, with crime, traffic, and potential hazards for the local area as I do in home caregiving all over Vancouver, and it's hard to know what's going on without a scanner.
Transparent communication.
Transparency is key to a free society.
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I believe the encryption violates the citizens right to know what is happening in our communities. If they are so worried about security of sensitive information, that can, and should be sent over secured network, ie, the computer systems in the patrol vehicles, the main dispatch channels should be open to the public, to aid in accountability, their "need for encryption" just adds to public distrust in the justice system, and its my opinion, as a state licensed security officer, that we the people, know what's best for our saftey. Those that misuse, the radio/scanner frequencies should be put in jail, for said crime,I believe most people that wish to use a scanner, wish to do so for their own peace of mind, not criminal activity.